Harker Unboxing and Review

Chassis Model: Digital Storm Harker 17.3 Inch Laptop (Model: S:9773)
Display: NVIDIA G-Sync - 17.3 Inch (16:9) (Resolution: 1920 x 1080) (Anti-glare) LED-Backlit Display
Screen Calibration: - Not Available
Processor: Desktop Class - Intel Core i7-4790K (Up to 4.40Ghz) (Quad Core) (8MB Cache)
Thermal Compound: Premium CPU and GPU Thermal Compound (Reduces Thermal & Laptop Noise)
Memory: 16GB DDR3 1600MHz
Storage Drive 1: 500GB Solid State - Samsung 850 EVO
Storage Drive 2: 1TB 7200RPM (SATA 3Gb/s)
Optical Drive: - No Thanks
Wireless Card: Intel Dual Band Wireless-AC 7265 + Bluetooth 4.0 (M.2 Socket)
Graphics Card(s): NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970M 6GB with NVIDIA Battery Boost
Windows OS: Microsoft Windows 10 Home (64-Bit Edition)
Recovery Tools: Windows Recovery Toolkit (Bundled with Windows CD)

I originally purchased my Digital Storm Harker on Thursday 9/10. This is my second DS laptop, my first was an x17 purchase in 2011. That computer has held up incredibly well over the years, and it's just getting to the point now where it has some issues with the newest games. I decided it was time for an upgrade so that my wife could inherit that computer and I could get myself something fancy and new :)

The order went into processed right away that same night, and the next day I reached out to DS to find out the status of my copy of Metal Gear Solid V (promo included with the video card I selected). Tammy wrote me back and told me that promo expired on 9/8. I was upset about that because it was still listed on DS's website, and no end date was included on the flyer. I was bummed out, but figured there was nothing they could do. The flyer continued to stay up for a few more days after that exchange, but eventually was removed. My laptop stayed in Stage 1 - Processed until Friday 9/18 when I received a call and email from Tammy at DS. She told me that they were out of the 980m gpu for the Harker and wouldn't be getting any more in stock, did I want to proceed with a 970m as they had put one aside for me? At this point I knew I could order the exact same laptop from other online retailers and get the 980m, but my first laptop from DS was such a tank I really wanted to stick with them. I decided to change my order to the 970m and my laptop went into Stage 3 that night.

On Saturday 9/19 I wasn't expecting any updates as DS doesn't normally operate on the weekends, but my laptop went all the way up to Stage 5. Then it stayed there for what felt like an eternity. On Saturday 9/26 I still hadn't heard any updates about my laptop, so I wrote to [email protected] to see if there were any issues. I was used to Alex fielding questions on the forums so I addressed my email to him. I didn't realize that the management inbox is checked by others as well, and I also didn't know Alex was out of the office when I sent my questions. I was basically addressing my displeasure about the Metal Gear Solid V promo and the gpu change (with no option to wait for a 980m), and then the lack of communication for a week. Three of my friends purchased DS computers after I got my first one, and this was my second purchase, so I was really hoping there was something they could do to make me feel like a valued customer.

I didn't hear a response from management, so on Wednesday 9/30 (15 business days after my order date) I posted in the customer service forums about my issues. Alex responded and apologized because he had been out of the office, and since I had addressed the email directly to him his coworkers checking the management inbox assumed he would get back to me. I don't blame Alex for this, he was out of the office and that couldn't have been helped, but it would have been nice if whoever had seen my message in the management inbox had responded just to say "Hey, Alex is out. Can I help you with this or would you like to wait for his return?" Going 3 business days without any sort of response wasn't very professional.

Alex apologized for the delay and forced downgrade, and he was able to get me a code for Metal Gear Solid V as well as upgrade my order to UPS Overnight shipping for free. I felt satisfied with that and continued to anxiously await my computer.

On Thursday 10/1 my computer progressed through Stage 6 and Stage 7, so I was really excited and expected it to ship quickly after that. Stage 7 is QA passed, and they estimate 1 business day between that status and actual shipping. 10/1 came and went, then 10/2, then it was the weekend so I didn’t expect it to ship at that point. Then 10/5 and 10/6…at that point it was getting ridiculous. I posted on my original customer service thread and asked Alex if he could give me any kind of an estimate. It was supposed to ship in 1 business day and we were up to 4. I was also at a total of 19 business days since I placed my order.

Alex said he would check into it and email me with what he found. He said that they were waiting on packing supplies to ship my laptop, and that it would go out in 1 – 2 more business days. It’s not fair to blame the messenger, but really guys? My order was delayed 4 business days and would possibly be delayed up to 2 more because of shipping supplies?? That just seems like poor planning.

I resigned myself to the wait, but then about an hour and a half after the email exchange I received an update that my order shipped! I got SO EXCITED until I checked the tracking page on UPS. It had an estimated delivery of Monday 10/12 and was being sent UPS Ground instead of Overnight delivery. I was going to spend ANOTHER weekend without my new computer, and all because someone messed up and used the wrong /old shipping label.

I immediately responded to Alex to let him know about the problem, and he was really surprised and upset about the shipping error, too. I frantically started googling if there was any way to change a shipment from ground to…anything faster, and Alex jumped into action calling UPS and seeing what could be done.

He let me know that he did speak to someone, and they said once my laptop made it to the first sorting facility they would put it aside and assign it the proper shipment method. I kept my fingers crossed that this would work, but I know UPS really doesn’t like changing the shipment method of packages that have already been picked up.

I checked the tracking on my laptop around 4am and noticed that it changed to an early delivery of Thursday 10/8. I rejoiced then went back to sleep, so someone had found it in time! Then on Wednesday 10/7 around 9am EDT I refreshed the page again just to see a “We’ve incorrectly sorted your package” error, saying that this may impact the delivery date by at least 1 business day. I just wanted it by the weekend, so Friday would still be okay, but would it just be 1 business day or could it be delayed further?

I checked the UPS website often, but didn’t get an update until around 4am on Thursday 10/8. My laptop arrived in Kentucky, and it said the next time I should see an update on the package’s location would be Monday 10/12. I resign myself to the fact that I wouldn’t get my laptop in time for the weekend and went back to sleep. Then when I woke up at 9am and refreshed the page my laptop was magically out for delivery! It had flown from Kentucky to Pennsylvania and I would get it that very day – super unexpected and a very welcome change.

My laptop arrived without incident on Thursday 10/8 (unboxing pictures below). Overall it’s a well-designed beast of a laptop. When I’m not gaming or doing anything intensive it’s absolutely silent, I can barely tell it’s on. The fans kick up when I’m gaming, but nothing unreasonably loud. So far while playing Dying Light, Elder Scrolls Online, and Metal Gear Solid V the hottest my processor has gotten was around 81 Celsius and my GPU hasn’t broken 80 yet. They cool down immediately once I’m no longer gaming.

I’m able to play Dying Light entirely maxed out and it runs SO smoothly. The same with ESO; I can really tell that g-sync is on and working. I’m also very satisfied with the matte display. My x17 laptop’s display wasn’t matte and it never annoyed me, but when I compare it to my new laptop the Harker is just brighter, clearer, and easier to see in bright sunlight.

The rubberized laptop shell (also around the keyboard) feels good to the touch, but it’s probably going to get irreversibly oily at some point, at least where your wrist rests to sit on WASD. I noticed that after the first night of gaming, and was able to clean it off, but eventually I think that’ll just become part of the laptop. The built in mouse also has a nice feel to it, much more responsive and accurate than my x17’s built in mouse, but I use a Razer Naga anyway so it’ll be rare for me to use it. In terms of sound the built in speakers also sound really good. I use other speakers by default, but it’s nice to have the option for when I’m away from home.

The backlit keyboard looks impressive, and is easy to customize. The keys also feel nicely spaced, so no complaints there so far. I haven’t opened up the laptop yet, but it looks easy to open and clean, similar to my x17, so I don’t anticipate any problems there. Overall I think it’s a really great laptop, especially for the price, and will keep me happy for years to come.

As I write this review (Monday 10/12 but I may wait a few days before posting) I do have one more large complaint for DS though. I refreshed their laptop page today and noticed that the 980m GPUs are back in stock for the Harker. I was told they wouldn’t be getting any more, which is why I changed my order. If I had known they would be restocked in the next month or so I would have waited for that GPU. Laptop GPUs are expensive in general, and they’re an expensive upgrade if you want to make a change later down the line. It’s impossible to future proof your purchase, but I want this laptop to last as long as possible, so I would have gladly waited an extra week or two to do so.

I also feel like I had to push DS through the build process. My laptop would sit in a status for an extended period of time, then the moment I complained or made Alex aware of the delay they would magically move ahead with the order. Then tack onto that using the wrong shipping method and making me a nervous wreck for a few days, not cool. I really want to stick with DS for future purchases, but I hope they’re able to overcome these growing pains. I know they want to move to 24/7 support sometime in the near future, and they’re opening up DS Canada, so hopefully they’ll be able to better support high demand.

When it comes to the Harker itself though, I would highly recommend this computer to anyone looking for a gaming laptop. It’s not tiny or super portable by any stretch of the imagination, but if you’re looking for a gaming beast you’ve found it.

If anyone has specific requests for pictures just let me know and I'll share 'em! Sorry my phone doesn't take the best pictures, but you'll get the idea.





























Here you can kind of see the oil marks I mentioned. Hopefully they won't be a big deal as long as I clean often.

Thanks for the review and excellent pics.   The graphics card delay would've ticked me off also.   Tougher and more expensive to swap out a card in a laptop then desktop.     I hope everything goes smooth from this point on.   

Enjoy.

Hi kandore,

Thank you for posting your review. I'm glad that you're happy with the product. In regards to the graphics card now being available, that's actually a different revision of the unit. During the time you ordered, we did not have the GTX 980M available and we still do not.

The Back to School season definitely put a good number of orders behind schedule, however we have caught up and hope next time around is smoother for our customers.

Enjoy that beast!

You're welcome and thank you for the kind words.

We really do have a great community. A big high five to everyone here.